From Rome
With an unusual decision for a Pontiff, who usually sends his spokesmen when he wants to express himself on difficult issues or sends the ambassador of the country involved to the Vatican, Pope Francis decided on Friday to go personally to the embassy of the Russian Federation before the Holy Headquarters to express concern about what is happening in Ukraine.
The Pontiff arrived around noon, in a white car, to the door of the Russian embassy, which is located on the street that runs from the Tiber River to Saint Peter’s Square, that is, at the gates of the Vatican. In that street, Via della Conciliazione, there are several embassies accredited to the Holy See, including Argentina
The meeting with the Russian ambassador Alexander Avdeev, whom the Pope has known for a long time and with whom he has good relations, lasted about half an hour, according to the spokesman for the Vatican press office, Matteo Bruni. Avdeev is also in charge of organizing a second meeting between Pope Francis and the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, and apparently keeps Francis informed about the conflict in Ukraine. And Francis always hopes, say Vatican sources, that a negotiation channel will be opened to end the war.
Despite these particulars, the Vatican did not report on the specific contents of the meeting between the Pope and the ambassador. Although some already think that Francis could act as a mediator, others rule out that possibility, Russia being mainly Christian-Orthodox and not Catholic. Francis, however, has always had good relations with the main Eastern churches, both Orthodox and Muslim, whose representatives he has invited to the Vatican in past years for open interreligious dialogue and for peace.
In order to go to the embassy, Francis canceled all the audiences he had scheduled today, with the exception of the meeting with the new Greek ambassador to the Holy See, who had to present his credentials. Apart from these cancellations, the Pope also gave up going to Florence, a trip that was scheduled for this Sunday, to attend the closing of the meeting of bishops and mayors of the Mediterranean organized by the Italian Episcopal Conference. The Vatican press office specified that Francis had to give up this event because he has acute pain in his knee, for which the doctor prescribed rest. He, too, will not be present at the Ash Wednesday celebration on March 2.
Apart from the official information from the Holy See, the newspaper “Il fatto quotidiano” published another version, attributing in part to the protests of the pacifist priests, the renunciation of the trip to Florence. It seems that the pacifist priests protested the presence among the people who spoke at the meeting in Florence, of the former Italian minister Marco Minniti, currently president of the Med-Or foundation that belongs to Leonardo, the largest arms producer in Italy.
The Pope had already expressed his concern for Ukraine in Wednesday’s audience at the Vatican, before the Russian bombing had begun. “I have a great pain in my heart for the worsening of the situation in Ukraine – said the Pontiff -. Despite the diplomatic efforts of recent weeks, increasingly alarming scenarios are opening up (…) I ask all the parties involved to refrain from any action that causes even more suffering to the populations, destabilizing coexistence between nations and discrediting international law. And he asked the Catholics that on March 2, Ash Wednesday in the Churches, they make a day of fasting in favor of peace.
For his part, the Vatican secretary of state – number two of the Holy See – Cardinal Pietro Parolin, highlighted on Thursday the words that the pope had said the day before. And he underlined “The tragic scenarios that we all feared are unfortunately coming true. But there is still time for goodwill. There is still room for negotiation, there is still room for the exercise of wisdom that prevents the interests of the parties from prevailing, protects the legitimate aspirations of each one and saves the world the madness and horrors of war”, he concluded. .
Pope Francis also had an online meeting on Thursday with university students from a Jesuit university in Chicago with whom he also addressed the issue of violence. Entitled “Building North-South Bridges”, the meeting was organized by the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for Latin America. On that occasion, Pope Francis stressed that violence “must be responded to with active non-violence.” “The denunciation of violence is the greatest challenge we must face,” he told the young people. Because “violence destroys, it does not build, and we see it in military and non-military dictatorships in the course of history.”
Meanwhile in different Italian cities there have been several demonstrations against the violence in Ukraine. Yesterday there was one in front of the Russian embassy in Rome. Also some monuments were illuminated last night, as an expression of solidarity, with the colors of the Ukrainian flag, blue and yellow. Among them the Colosseum in Rome but also Downing Street in London, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and the Empire State Building in New York.
keep reading
https://www.pagina12.com.ar/403947-rusia-ucrania-como-sigue-la-guerra-en-el-este-de-europa-minu
https://www.pagina12.com.ar/403370-rusia-ucrania-vladimir-putin-bombardeo-y-avanza-con-sus-trop
https://www.pagina12.com.ar/403775-conflicto-rusia-ucrania-l-las-claves-historicas-que-explican
https://www.pagina12.com.ar/403925-conflicto-rusia-ucrania-bombardeo-ruso-alarma-mundial-y-mas-
https://www.pagina12.com.ar/403980-ataque-a-ucrania-rusia-reafirma-que-su-objetivo-es-la-caida-